Details emerge in fatal crash investigation

Published: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 2:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 at 3:04 p.m.

Wilmington crash investigators have pieced together the events preceding Monday morning's fatal wreck on Carolina Beach Road, determining that the driver who was killed had been involved in a hit-and-run and was being pursued as he collided with an 18-wheeler, a police spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Investigators found that the deceased, Frankie Eugene Williams, 37, of Raleigh was driving his Mercedes when he rear-ended a 2013 BMW sedan about 8 a.m. Monday. But instead of stopping, he sped off along Converse Drive, according to Wilmington Police Department spokeswoman Lucy Crockett.

The BMW's driver, Dr. Feras Tanta, also 37, gave chase, attempting to capture a photograph of Williams' license plate with his cell phone, Crockett said.

Witnesses told police both cars sped and wound their way from Converse to Independence Boulevard, then westbound on Shipyard Boulevard, onto 17th Street and Wellington Avenue. The pursuit came to a close when Williams ran a stop sign on Carolina Beach Road and rammed his Mercedes underneath the 18-wheeler, dying.

Police charged Tanta with misdemeanor reckless operation of a motor vehicle in connection to the episode, Crockett said.

<p>Wilmington crash investigators have pieced together the events preceding Monday morning's fatal wreck on Carolina Beach Road, determining that the driver who was killed had been involved in a hit-and-run and was being pursued as he collided with an 18-wheeler, a police spokeswoman said Wednesday. </p><p>Investigators found that the deceased, Frankie Eugene Williams, 37, of Raleigh was driving his Mercedes when he rear-ended a 2013 BMW sedan about 8 a.m. Monday. But instead of stopping, he sped off along Converse Drive, according to Wilmington Police Department spokeswoman Lucy Crockett. </p><p>The BMW's driver, Dr. Feras Tanta, also 37, gave chase, attempting to capture a photograph of Williams' license plate with his cell phone, Crockett said. </p><p>Witnesses told police both cars sped and wound their way from Converse to Independence Boulevard, then westbound on Shipyard Boulevard, onto 17th Street and Wellington Avenue. The pursuit came to a close when Williams ran a stop sign on Carolina Beach Road and rammed his Mercedes underneath the 18-wheeler, dying. </p><p>Police charged Tanta with misdemeanor reckless operation of a motor vehicle in connection to the episode, Crockett said. </p><p><i></p><p>– <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9904"><b>Brian Freskos</b></a></i></p>